Safari Quick Facts

We have chosen Amboseli Porini Camp because of its location. Situated in the private Selenkay Conservancy,
the area is a true wilderness area, with fewer vehicles and less tourists than Amboseli itself and it’s an important
area for wildlife as it’s where they cross out of the national park and includes species like the lesser kudu, gerenuk and Beisa oryx that are not found in the park – therefore, we think you’ll have a better wildlife experience. The camp itself has just nine guest tents, all of which are en-suite. Amboseli National Park has at its heart a dried-up lake bed which in the dry season produces mirages in the shimmering heat. Despite its desert-like appearance, swamps and springs fed
by underground rivers from the melting snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro provide permanent watering
places even in times of drought. Along with elephants, there is plenty of wildlife to be seen
such as lions, leopards, rhinos, cheetahs, Thompson's and Grant's gazelles, impalas,
zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, warthogs, striped hyenas, jackals, bat-eared foxes, caracals, African wild cats, servals, genets, honey badgers, mongooses and ostriches – all of which have been seen in the Selenkay Conservancy recently. Birdlife is also prolific, especially birds of prey.
Today, you’ll head out on a full morning’s game viewing on private tracks, with increased chances of seeing the
wildlife listed above from your specially designed open-sided four-wheel drive vehicles (rather than the minivans
used elsewhere). Expert guides will accompany you to give you the best information about the wildlife you
encounter. After a picnic lunch, you’ll also have an early evening game drive in the conservancy.
After a rest, you’ll then head out on a night game drive to seek out nocturnal animals, such as aardvarks, servals,
caracals, bat-eared foxes and African wild cats. This is another unique experience.
Returning to camp, you can regale stories of your day’s activities and sightings around a roaring bonfire, listening
to the night sounds of the park and its wildlife.

Today we’ve included another early morning game drive, or maybe a bush walk, so you can say farewell to this
most amazing of national parks.
A six hour (370km) drive takes you to Lake Elementaita and your lodge, located on its shores and in the heart of
the Great Rift Valley, an area of stunning scenic beauty. The lake is home to thousands of pink flamingos, plus
white pelicans and great crested grebes. It is a wonderfully relaxing area and a great place to stay; in a lodge
that’s a great base for tomorrow’s explorations to the famous Lake Nakuru.
If you wish, this afternoon your guide will take you on a walk along the shores of Lake Elementaita and explain a
little about the eco-system and wildlife here.

Lake Nakuru is highly valued, locally and internationally, as a wetland of great importance; a waterfowl habitat,
site of the first Rhino Sanctuary and home to millions of flamingos. At one time around a third of the world’s total
population of lesser flamingo (around two million) lived on the lake. Today numbers vary according to water and
food conditions, the birds feeding on the abundant algae. This small shallow lake has become world famous as
the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth – a myriad of flamingos whose vast numbers can at times turn
the lake pink in colour. Its habitat is also rich in diversity of bird species, making it an ornithologist’s heaven.
The surrounding park is famous for its sizeable population of both black and white rhinos, and leopard sightings
are promising here, too. The rare Rothschild’s giraffe is also present and the park is home to buffalo, wild dog,
zebra, eland, waterbuck and lion.
We have included a full day’s visit to the park.

You will spend the next two days enjoying the wildlife of the Masai Mara.
The Masai Mara is the finest wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. Everything about this reserve is outstanding. The wildlife
is abundant and the gentle rolling grasslands ensure that animals are never out of sight, perfect for keen
photographers. Birdlife is also prolific with over 450 bird species having been recorded, among them 57 species
of birds of prey. Your first sight of this natural wonderland is breathtaking.
Here great herds of elephant browse among the rich treestudded grasslands, with an
occasional sighting of a solitary and ill-tempered
black rhino. Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, topi, eland and many more species of plains mammals offer a rich choice of food for the dominant predators - lion, leopard and cheetah - thathunt in this pristine wilderness.
All of this amid an environment of acacia-dotted
savannah, rocky rivers, high escarpments and woodland, which provide differing landscapes in which to enjoy several game drives during the morning, afternoon, early evening (with sundowners!) and night game drives (to spot nocturnal animals).
Your accommodation, Mara Porini Camp, is located in Ol Kinyei, a community-owned conservancy in the Mara
where the local Masai land-owners have set the area aside for wildlife. As with Amboseli, there are few other
vehicles and tourists, affording you an exclusive wildlife experience. There is also a resident pride of 19 lions in
the conservancy, and on our August departures you may be lucky enough to see the great wildebeest migration
as it passes through the park. The camp has just six guest tents, all in the shade of yellow-barked Acacia trees
along the banks of the Laetoli, a permanent spring within Ol Kinyei. The tents are spacious and each has an ensuite
bathroom with flush toilet and safari (outside) shower.

After an early morning game drive or bush walk, you’ll fly to Nairobi – it’s about a one-hour flight. Upon arrival
we’ve included lunch at Nairobi’s famous Restaurant, where you’ll eat more meat than you can ever
imagine.